Twilight Hour
by Letalis Amor
Summary: Longer summary inside Murders of high school girls are popping up everywhere, which is not what a newbie expected in the dank, green atmosphere of Forks, Washington. And a family of foreigners stir some suspicious rumors. Forks, thy name is Secrecy.
1. Summary

There is an elongated summary after my author's note…

Since the becoming popularity of Twilight, a lot of my friends have become to detest it. I've disliked Twilight since I first read it which was the day it hit the shelves about two or three years ago, maybe even four.

I'm a well known writer amongst my friends and even a bit online, so I've had many requests to rewrite the Twilight saga. And I've decided I will.

I will admit, inspiration will come from Van Hellsing the movie, the Anita Blake series, and other vampire genre I like. Maybe even the Riley Jenson series.

Disclaimer: Anything recognizable from the Twilight series itself is copyright to Stephenie Meyer. Some elements will stay. A lot will be removed and/or replaced. But Cullens and etc belong to Meyer.

One thing: (if something looks like this, with these brackets, it is the main character's side thoughts, not author notes.)

Another thing: now that I'm looking at this I realized all the things I'm describing that Camiryn has it sounds like she's filthy rich. But she's not. Her grandparents didn't care much to share their wealth with her parents. Except for Christmas. These things are things that I already own, or my brother already owns. And by no means are our parents rich. My father and his wife are pretty average with wealth. And then my mom and I are kind of struggling with money, but we're not really poor. Besides that, my father is the one who buys me these things, but even at that, it's over a period of time. So, this is not to confuse anyone; Camiryn has obtained these things over a period of time.

Erm, I'm still going through changes to the chapters and I'll try and replace them as soon as I can with the revised chapters. Though, honestly, I don't know how well I'm going to remember to do that.

**Stephenie Meyer owns the official copyright of the Twilight Saga, I'm just tweaking her story so all the Anti-Twilighters have their own Twilight adventure to enjoy. This disclaimer goes throughout the story.**

x..x..x..x..x

Elongated Summary:

Fate has been cruel to Camiryn, in her eyes. Her family is taken away from her. Her grandparents decide she was too much trouble for them to care for. And she has lost her friends. Being shipped off to a foreign place, Forks doesn't seem such an inviting idea. But right from the start Camiryn is accepted with open arms by her new guardian, aunt Meridiath, and her new friends at Forks High. But it's too good to be true… Meridiath starts showing a mysterious hidden side of her life, Camiryn's condition has started sending her to the hospital more times than she'd like to count, while the gruesome murders of college and high school girls have grown numerous. And Camiryn has already fixed herself on a suspect…


	2. Prologue

Preface

High School. A gathering of intolerant, prejudicial teens in masses of Hollister and Hot Topic. The "in", the "out", the preps, the freaks, the rejects, the junkies, and everyone in between. If you didn't fit into one of these categories, you were a "nobody". And everyone wanted to impress to be in.

But not so much here. The styles and personalities were as plain as their cookie-cutter houses. I vaguely wondered if they even knew what drama was. The lack of individuality was intimidating.

And this was where I was going to be living. Another Mormonville. Another perpetual state of endless boredom.

Welcome to Forks High.


	3. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Dame de Lotusse (Emilie Simon)

In the movie the Moulin Rouge, the theme can be epitomized by one of the end quotes, "the greatest thing you could ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return."

I basically suck at that.

Why? Because I'm so ill matched for any kind of relationship I might as well give up. I'm either intimidating because I make them feel like the girl in the relationship or they are commitment phobes. I've never found someone who wasn't trying to change me or cheat with girlier, immature twits who spread their legs faster than you can say 'cheese' at the photo booth.

Metaphorically, my heart was all thread and patchwork. Nothing resembling its original, pure form. This made me more hostile and sarcastic. But I enjoy my new quick-witted self and who could blame me?

I believe I began to harden emotionally when my parents died. About a year ago there was a pile-up on the highway which forced me to my grandparent's mercy, where I stayed until they finally decided I'd be better off with my aunt, Meridiath (yes, said just like meridian). I had never heard of her before. They said she was a Shaman, a Native American doctor with extensive knowledge of herbs and medicine. She was a black sheep like me.

And this is why I was in the airport waiting for a woman I'd only seen in pictures. I'd probably been standing there not five minutes but I was already nervous. I was left in the near-empty building, luggage set beside me, chewing on my lip. Finally, I sighed.

Relationships no longer held my interest and I didn't have a real boyfriend in a good number of years. And I wish I could smother that little part inside me that longed for a companion I could spend my time with and kiss under the stars. That dream has all but eluded me and left me wanting for more. I hate love.

"Camiryn Blaqk?"

I pivoted around toward the feminine voice. Her features were like a slap in the face. She was tall, 5'9", with long cascading cinnamon curls and green-hazel eyes. Her jaw was smooth yet strong, cheekbones high, and she hardly had any laugh-lines. She had dressed casual but it didn't make her any less beautiful.

"Meridiath," she introduced herself with a soft smile, "do you need help with your luggage?"

I didn't know what I was expecting, snideness or a cold exterior, but I didn't expect the warm welcome she projected. She was probably really good with kids.

"It's ok, I've got it," I mumbled, embarrassed I had gawked.

"Okay," she turned, "the car's out here."

I followed her outside into the wet weather to an emerald-green Mirage. The color was as sleek as the car; it was obviously well taken care of. The drive home told me why. She drove like Andretti, pushing the speed limits and whipping around corners, but never forgetting her turn signal.

She and I exchanged the details of our life on the way. She owned a Pinto stallion named Saroya, which lived on a plot of land in back of the small town. For a living she owned a Bistro-Villa shop which also sold herbs that I could start work at. She could only stand wireless internet which was grand by me. And she had married twice and would shoot her suitor rather than do it again. Yet it wasn't one of the reasons she was single now.

The house she owned wasn't so far from the school, Meridiath informed me, but she wouldn't walk the distance each morning. I stepped out of the car to admire it better. It was two stories with a built in fireplace, red oak door, and maroon shutters on the windows. The walls were thick and brown-bricked.

Meridiath was already walking up on the wide wood porch with my luggage and unlocking the door. I scrambled up after her.

The air inside was warm and smelled of cinnamon sticks, and it looked even bigger inside. The kitchen and dining room were off to the immediate right, sharing the one room with the dining table by the far wall. The living room took up the back of the first floor with the computer room and the cellar entrance off to the left; and there was another dining table in front of the all-glass wall of the far back. Near the entrance, wide stairs curled up to the second floor which had three vast bedrooms and two restrooms. One bathroom after the first of two flights of stairs next to a door which led to the balcony, first bedroom was off to the right before the hall on the left. The hall had one bedroom at the end, the third on the right and the other bathroom across from it.

"Your bedroom will be the one at the end of the hall, k?" she moved into said room with my bags.

"K," I replied, though I didn't think she heard me. She had left the room.

I wandered through the room, my room now, and found I had the only other door to the balcony. The furnishings in here were a queen sized bed with cobalt-blue beddings and killer whale pillows, a nightstand with a small lamp, and a red-wood dresser with a mirror. Three bookshelves hung over the bed, placed one next to the other, the middle a little lower than the other two. Empty picture frames of different sizes were left on my bed for my leisure.

Looking at my luggage I got to work, I put my duffel bag onto the bed with my carry-on, a back-pack, and laid my suitcase on the floor so I could open it. Finally, I closed my door and put down the pet carrier.

"Home, sweet home, guys," I opened the gate on the front and two fur-balls darted out. They were twins of sorts, the kind that doesn't look alike. One was a long-haired calby, (if you look that up it should come up as a cat that has mixed fur coat between a calico pattern and a tortoiseshell pattern), almost six months old like her brother; her name was Grisabella. Yes, I love the musical Cats, which brings me to her twin. He was a long-haired orange tabby. And his name was Rum-Tum-Tumbler. Now, I know in the musical the cat's name was Rum-Tum-Tugger, but you should see this cat. Whenever he runs and stops, he doesn't skid to a halt, he tumbles, rolls over, and gets up again. With his name that long, I just call him Tumbly.

Now, what I mean by them two being twins, I was directing it at their behavior. They couldn't be more different. Tumbly was curious, and took no precautions, and got into everything. He was the biggest mess-maker I'd ever known, human or cat. He absolutely loves to be cuddled, and doesn't quite know danger and whatnot. Gris-Gris, or Bella, (whichever one I decide to call her at the time) however, is the opposite. She will let you hold her only as long as she wants to be held, she explores but isn't quite curious, she would rather curl up on my bed than run around, and she only ever wants your attention when her food dish is empty. Both are really partial to stuffed animals. I could never leave my Beanie Baby collection out low enough that they can reach them.

That used to be my hobby. Collecting TY Beanie Babies, but I'd stopped after I turned 10. Instead, I started collecting vampire books. I really enjoyed them. Cirque du Freak, Riley Jenson, Anita Blake, Darkyn series, Vampire Kisses series, Ann Rice's, even Vampire Knight, and Chibi Vampire. Those were just a few, I had many more. And more than just vampire books. I collected Sherilyn Kenyon's books, and Christine Feehan's books. Anything with fantasy that included horrific tales in a CSI like manner or just blood, guts, and gore. I also liked to collect movies. Van Helsing, Underworld 1-3, Dawn of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, Ultra Violet, Hannibal Lector movies, Tomb Raider, Riddick trilogy, and more. My personal favorite, as of late, was the Saw series.

I watched the two kittens run around, chasing each other until Bella jumped on the bed, and unzipped my suitcase. My other likes were classical cars, and fast cars. My dream car was a '68 Pontiac Firebird. They were my favorite. I loved how simplistic they looked while being really stylish. And fast.

I pulled out my shirts and hung them on hangers left for me in the closet. I did have a favorite in music, too. I listened to all kinds of genre, and I liked them okay. But I really enjoyed music you didn't hear often, and really sort of didn't have a specific genre. Mindless Self Indulgence, for example, people would list as hard rock. But they really weren't. They were in a completely different league of rock than what you would normally list as rock. This, of course, was one band I listened to frequently. Another would be Emilie Autumn and the Dresden Dolls. Both these musics you could list together, but again they didn't belong in any of the categories that people knew.

But out of the categories that people did know, I usually listen to rock. Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Adema, Korn, Ramstein, Kanon Wakeshima, stuff like that. I also enjoy Emilie Simon who is a French artist, but I don't know what genre she'd be with. Perhaps with the Dresden Dolls? I picked up and refolded my jeans and pants and tucked them into the drawers. Next were my socks, pajamas, and lingerie. Yes, I admit it. I don't wear average bras and panties like the girls who do only because they have to cover up and make sure their boobs don't sag, I indulged in the sexy, sometimes naughty fashion in lacy undergarments. No, I really haven't had sex before. But lingerie can be like chocolate. You don't need another person to enjoy them.

Underneath the clothes in my suitcase I had placed my brother's X-Box 360 in. I knew if my g-parents had seen it they wouldn't have let me keep it. In fact, a lot of my 'rentals and brothers things I couldn't keep. I had to sneak stuff my g-parents hadn't seen for any kind of keepsake of theirs. This was one of them. My brother had been a Halo fanatic; he had owned them all, including the newest one. I placed this on the box in which I packed my Playstation 2 in, I didn't have a TV stand to put them on, nor a TV to hook them up to for that matter. These I'd probably have to buy later. He owned other games like Fable 1 and 2 which I enjoyed, and other war games I didn't; I placed these with the game system.  
Inside my duffel bag were my shoes. Now I know what you're thinking! Oh god, another typical female. I'm really not. Shoes aren't an obsession for me. But I do like to look nice. My shoe collection consists of a pair of Tripp, knee-high boots with strap-buckles up the front for show (they zip up on the side), a pair of black, Betty Page high-heels, two pairs of skate shoes, a pair of guy hiking boots, and a couple pair of high-heels; one straps, three-inch heels, the other open-toe, four-inch regular heels, both black (everything goes with black).

I took each one out and set them up in the closet, not in any particular order, and stuffed my suitcase under the bed and my duffel into the closet. Finally I turned to my carry-on. Inside this was a heavy-duty Compaq Armada E500, one of the older laptops. I really wanted a Mac but that would have to wait. The sad part about my laptop was that the screen couldn't sit up on its own, so I had to lean it against something to keep it up. It was rather quite annoying. Another thing was that it didn't have a lot of memory space. Hence the reason I really want a Mac. The other things in my bag were my ever present sketch books with my preferred twist-erase pencils, a few of my movies, a couple of books I hadn't read yet, and a CD player with my CDs. Yeah, I had an iPod, but I hadn't time to put what I wanted to listen to on it. It was a farewell present from my g-parents, so it was full of Christian music, and not even the Christian Rock which I liked. Like DC Talk…  
I organized them into the night-stand and finally turned to my boxes of stuff. There weren't that many but it seemed like unpacking was taking forever. The box containing my Playstation also had the games for it I owned and my HP PSC 1210xi printer/scanner, this I pushed into the closet. The next box had my books which I lined alphabetically by author on the book shelves, but even still I didn't have enough space for them all so I lined the rest along the top of my dresser. The other boxes held other nontrivial things so I pushed them under my bed to sort out later.

I was placing photos of my parents and little brother inside the frames when Meridiath checked on me.

"Everything ok?"

"Yes, we're good," I said. She had noticed the cats, was even staring at them. But she didn't say anything about them, like telling me they had to be outdoors, or had to stay in this room like my grandparents did.

She smiled, looking at me, "dinner is just about ready."

"Cool. What are we having?"

"Food," she said with a mischievous grin and left.

Yes, I would get along with her just fine.

The "food" was pre-made french-fries that were actually fried in what looked like a mini-deep-fryer, and hamburger patties she cooked on the grill; condiments and slices of cheese were set up on the dining table as well as a package of buns.  
This was great. It was like having fast food without leaving the house.

Meridiath gave me another grin, "if I know my parents like I do, they highly frowned upon stuff like this and wouldn't let you have it, huh?"

"Burger King serves late at night, so I had to sneak a couple of visits," I really hadn't. My grandparents were rich. They owned some kind of business dealing with imports or something. So they had money to spend, and what they had spent it on was a miniature looking house for me. They didn't want me living with them in their luxurious home that wasn't quite a mansion, but pretty darn close. But I wasn't about to tell anyone that because I'd rather liked my isolation. My house. My rules. That was the best part.

"That's right," Meridiath said, "well, I may not have an income as fancy as theirs but I do pretty well. I hope you don't mind the little set back from living with them for so long."

"No, no, I like it. More homey," and it was. This place was more welcoming than what my g-parents had.

"I try," she admitted, "but I've lived alone for a long time so I'm not familiar with company like before," she shrugged sheepishly at me, "not that I don't like your company. I think it'd be a nice change of pace with a teenager here."

I smiled, "thanks."

"So, do you want to start school tomorrow, or wait?"

"Um, I think I'll start tomorrow. No sense in having an absence on my first day."

"I think it'd be fun. To have everyone expect you and you not show up, I think it'd give them just a little bit of suspense and eagerness the next day."

"Everyone expects me tomorrow?"

"Yeah, well, that's how it is here. It's such a small place that word gets around fast. And gossip is really one of the only things keeping people going here and not fall back into the Dark Ages."

We laughed.

"I had told my friend, Cabrina, and my Aunt Faye," she continued, "that I was expecting you. I guess my aunt couldn't hold it in. But Cabrina's a nice gal, I believe she's only a couple years older than you."

"Nineteen?"

"I believe so."

"How old are you?"

Her smile was still there but she cocked an eyebrow and gave me that look, "Thirty-six."

I smiled sheepishly in response to my question, I guess that really isn't something you ask people normally.

She placed a patty on a plate with fries and handed it to me. I grabbed a bun and began my burger. As usual, I put on mustard and ketchup with a few pickles and placed the cheese on the patty. I munched on my fries while she fixed her own plate.

"So, for transportation," she said, sitting down.

"Yeah?"

"I have one other vehicle that's still in the shop, I bought it in poor condition for really cheep because fixing it up would cost just as much as buying a new one. And the thing still runs," she put mayo on her bun and a stifled a shudder. I really didn't like that stuff, "I was hoping to have it fixed by the time you got here so that you would have a vehicle, but I guess for the first few days I'll drive you to school."

"Ok," I bit into my burger, munched it, then swallowed, "what kind of car is it?"

"A Mustang," she said, "believe it's a Shelby."

I nearly dropped my food, "an Eleanor?" Eleanor was the code name given to my dream car in Gone in 60 Seconds with Nicolas Cage.

She smiled, "yes, I didn't know you'd seen that movie."

"Uh, I've seen the newer one."

"Of course," she paused with her food, "yes, it's an Eleanor."

"F-for me?"

"Yes," she gave me that grin again, "but you will have to work for it."

Damn, I knew there was a catch.

"What do I do?"

"You may have a job at my business. Stocking supplies and such. But the first month working for me you will be paying off your debt. After that, if you wish, you may continue working for me and you will be paid."

That's easy enough, "ok."

"Good," she smiled, and we finished our meal.


	4. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Venus as a Boy (Bjork)

Last night, I hadn't expected anything really enjoyable about the bed except for the fact that I wouldn't have to sleep on the floor. But the top mattress was a pillow-down, I really liked these. My friend back in California had one, only hers was a twin size. To say the least, I had slept pretty well. Very well, actually, with my kittens on the pillow.

I slid out of the bed to get ready for school, and since it was still August I wasn't quite limited on what to wear just yet. So I chose a black 'The Crow' tank-top, ripped and studded black Hot Topic skirt, black thigh-highs, and my black army combat boots. I braided my dark hair into a simple braid and put on black eyeliner and eye-shadow. I used three different colors of blue for my eye-shadow to create a fading concept, the color set off my amber-hazel eyes really well, and it was the only spot of color I wore.

A thought suddenly had me really excited, I was nearly shaking with eagerness. I was going to get to ride a Shelby. Wait, not ride, drive!

I made sure my kittens stayed in my room as I scrambled down the stairs to the kitchen to scrounge up something for breakfast. But, as it turns out, I didn't have to. Meridiath was already there with toast and eggs, fashioned in a way I'd only seen in V for Vendetta.

"Hungry?"

"Yes," I plopped onto a chair, "smells good."

"It is good," she smiled.

She fixed me a plate and handed it to me, "thank you," I took it.

"So, nervous for your first day? Excited? Or is it just the same old same old?"

"Um, nervous, yes, I'll admit. Excited? Not really. Except for the fact that this will be my senior year," I was talking around my food.

She looked at me, "how old are you?"

"Seventeen, but my birthday cuts it real close to the start of school."

"I see. That makes sense," she bit into her food, "well, you won't be needing anything for your first day, except for a writing utensil and probably a notebook. We'll go school shopping when you know what you need."

"N-k," I finished my food and grabbed the necessary school equipment and one of my sketchbooks. "See ya," I headed out the front door after I heard her say 'bye' and saw that she'd already backed the car out of the garage. It was visibly old, the years seemed to settle in the paint, and it almost looked pitiful, but that was probably because I'd seen one prior in its prime. But the car wasn't unfixable. If I worked on it, it'd be like a new penny.

The keys were in the car already, perched in the ignition, and so I slid onto the seat. The interior was nice, very nice. No leather or pleather, the seat functions were standard, and so was the gadgets of the car (nothing like new models), and it was stick shift. I liked this car, I grinned happily. Something caught my eye and I turned my head to find my 'welcome to Forks' gift from Meridiath on the passenger seat. Ooooo….

It was a new radio, MP3 capabilities too. Niiiiice.

After a thought, I ran back inside to grab my smaller disk holder that held maybe 25 CDs, and returned to pop in MSI's Frankenstein Girls May Seem Strangely Sexy. I pulled out of the driveway, which was one of those round-about like ones, and glanced at the map I had. Heh, heh, I don't quite know my way around… "Forks high, where is Forks high?"

When I found it, with some difficulty (HOW?! THIS CITY IS SO SMALL!), I pulled onto the road and used the quickest route to get there.

When the school came into view I whimpered, "you've gotta be kidding me…" There was absolutely nothing, nuth-ing!, to separate the school from the other residential homes EXCEPT for the stupid sign! I sighed and pulled into the parking space closest to the exit of the mini parking lot. Hee, hee, to make my quick get-a-way…

I left my belongings in the car because I was early, I usually liked to be, and walked to the front office with just my car keys. In the room it was warm and bright, almost blinding, small and tidy, and simple. Plants, a humungous clock, ghastly carpet, a bulletin board, and the room was split into two parts. One students could walk around in, one they couldn't. A red-haired woman was behind the counter; she wore thick-rimmed glasses.

"Can I help you?" her voice was thick, deep, with a slight southern accent. But her tone threw me off, it sounded wistful, tired, and unwelcoming. I doubt that was her fault. No matter what size, school usually gets to some of the faculty pretty bad.

"Camiryn Blaqk," I said, as friendly as I could manage. She raised her eyebrows.

"Meridiath's niece?"

I nodded.

"Hm, I expected---well, nevermind," she gave me everything I needed, with a little better tone mind you, and told me if I needed help I could ask here. I thanked her and headed out where I saw the kids start to arrive. The cars were old, not the classical old I liked, and they were plain, like Hondas and Chevys. The only car that was eye-catching was a white, shiny Volvo parked next to me. I wasn't impressed with it, I never really liked them, except for one model I can't remember the name of, but this car was definitely not it.

It was time for us to start heading to our respective classes now. I was glad I had only five credits left to get a diploma, so I had three classes this semester, and two classes the next. Therefore, English, Government, and Biology II was in the first one, and French and Creative Writing in the other.

First I had English with Ms. Vo, she really was Asian. Oh, wait, sorry, she's Vietnamese, but she was cool and I already liked her class. I was seated next to a girl named Raven Knox, who was spunky in her style like me. She was easy to get along with and asked to befriend me. Of course, I didn't say no. She was three inches taller than me, putting her at 5'6", and she was tiny, naturally so. All her clothes were form fitting and even more Emo than mine. I guess mine would rank more as Goth anyway, but I digress. She had a small, square face with features just as sharp but fit well together. Her hair was black and red and teased to splay out like a peacock's feathers, and the only make-up she wore was foundation, powder, and eyeliner (I think there was some eye-shadow, too). She was attractive, and she said she had a crush on a Jasper Hale. I didn't ask who he was, I didn't really care right then.

In a shocking realization, I found that I was paler than the school population, from being one shade lighter, to about three shades lighter.

"Do I stand out because of it?"

"A little," Raven laughed, "but don't worry, they won't think you're ugly because of it."

"Oh, yeah, cuz that's the last thing I want. Banishment from society because I'm not pretty…" I said sarcastically. She laughed.

Second was Government with Mr. Chess. I'm not kidding. He was pretty cool, too. The only thing he really had us do was book work on our own, sometimes with a partner. Which is how I met Shayne. Shayne was smaller than me, by a couple inches, and her freckles made her look slightly tan. She had blonde hair, like honey gold, and streaks of rainbow on her bangs. But that was really all that was abnormal about her. Her eyes were grayish-blue, her figure was well filled out (even more than mine), and today she wore a long, navy-blue skirt with a simple tank-top under a black hoodie.

But she was very uninterested in the school, the subject, and me. We did our work and as soon as the bell rang, she left the classroom. Now, I was thinking that she was a pretty rude girl and that I really didn't deserve her blatant disregard for me, but there's always a story and so I tried my hardest to not prejudge her. It was hard.

The cafeteria was as crowded as a small school could be. They even had cliques. Surprise, surprise. Raven met up with me and we stood in line for food before she showed me to the table she frequented. To my surprise, Shayne was sitting there. Raven pointed each person out; Jessica, Eric, Mike, and so on and so forth. I sat down, though I really didn't want to. I would have liked to sit off by myself like new students did for the first month or so. I simply pulled out one of my favorite books, Dracula by Broker, and began to read. But the words wouldn't focus in my head, I kept reading the last sentence over and over again. I couldn't concentrate. I hate first days of school…

I let my eyes skim over the student population, uninterested……until I got to the group in the corner of the cafeteria, far from the crowd. They were eye catching, of course, and their behavior was curious. Or lack thereof. The had trays of untouched food in front of them, their eyes trained in front of them, seemingly staring off into the distance of their minds. I felt one of my eyebrows raise.  
They were all unique within themselves, and yet so similar to each other it was mind boggling. The biggest male was built like a weight lifter, big like a bear, and dressed like a jock, with dark, curly hair. His face was round-like and his features small, but he was a bit intimidating. The second male was tall, lean, muscular, with honey blond hair. His face was more oval and his features were gentle. The last was a little shorter than the blond, like two inches; he was lanky yet toned, boyish compared to the other two, yet there was something unmistakably…wise about him. He had untidy, bronze-colored hair; the color was like mixing paprika and cinnamon. And his face was in between the two others. And his features…they were gentle yet intimidating, dark and angelic.

There were two girls. One was tall, like 5' 7". Heavy, dark eyeliner circled her eyes like bruises of an insomniac; her hair was blond on the right and brown on the left, two raccoon tails dangled by her face in rainbow colors, her hair was short and stuck out like a globe at the top and long at the bottom. It was an interesting choice of haircut, very J-Rock like. The other was short and tiny, smaller than me, her hair was short and sprung out from her head like a porcupine.

They were all pale, paler than me. Albino maybe. But that didn't fit right. Their eyes were an assortment of colors I could not see from here. And they were devastatingly, inhumanly gorgeous. To sketch them would be awesome, and I wanted to.

The small girl rose with her tray and walked away with a quick, graceful lope that belonged on a runway. She dumped her tray and glided through the back door. Obviously, she didn't like what was said to her.

"That one is Jasper Hale," Raven said to me.

"The blond boy?"

"Yes," she sighed.

"I can see why you're interested in him, but I'm guessing he's with the little twiglette."

She giggled, "yeah."

"Sad."

Jessica turned her attention to us, "isn't it, though?" she obviously was directing her comment toward Raven's hopeless love. Jessica was not the nicest person to have as a friend. I could tell that right away with her snide attitude at how she addressed everyone and everything. Though you couldn't tell that right away, she was good at being a fake. Real good.

I looked to the table again, only to catch the eyes of the redhead. I kept my gaze steady with his, daring him to look away first. I wasn't embarrassed at being caught staring, he must be used to it by now, and I wasn't some fantasizing little preteen thinking some pretty face was going to date me. He looked away first.  
"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, October Hunt and Jasper Hale," Jessica giggled in embarrassment, but spoke under her breath, "the one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife."

I looked from her back to the table. The redhead was looking at his tray, picking at the food, and talking to his siblings. His lips moved quickly, too rapid for me to read them.

"Hm, quite a beautiful, lonely bunch, aren't they?" I mused.

"Yes!" Jessica exclaimed with another giggle, "they're all together though --- Emmett and October, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together." Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town, I smiled. How very predictive.

"Do they now?"

"Oh, but they're not related. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted."

I was quickly losing interest in this conversation, but Jessica seemed to want to inform me fully, "little old for foster children…"

"They are now, Jasper and October are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that."

"Oh," I hoped that one syllable comment would drop the conversation.

Not so, for Raven finally spoke, "I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, so that's why."

"Really?" I moved my food and put my head down on the table. I was suddenly feeling very tired.

"Yup, they moved down here from Alaska two years ago," Raven shrugged.

Wait… I looked up, "who's who, though?"

"Well, the tallest one is Emmett-" Raven stated.

"Curly hair?"

"Yes. The one with weird hair is October. The blond is Jasper like I said before…"  
Suddenly I felt a slight pressure in my head. Not like a headache. But metaphysically. Someone in this place was psychic, besides me, and they were trying to read my thoughts. But my mental barriers were stronger than that; I locked them up tight and searched the room again, hoping to pinpoint their location. But I met the eyes of the beautiful redheaded. His expression was a mix of frustration and wonder. Could he be…?

"And the redhead?"

"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him," Jessica sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes. I wondered when he'd turned her down.

The pressure was gone as fast as it came.

"Well, I'm done," I said, getting up at the same time the four demigods did. Uncomfortable, I dumped what was left of my food in the garbage and took a different door than the pale group. I practically ran to my next class; not wanting to run into Shayne or Jessica at the moment seeing how they would be with Raven. Entering the classroom, I noticed one other person was already here and it wasn't the teacher. The desks weren't singular, each one seated two people; guess there's a lot of partner work in this class. The girl was sitting at the one in the middle near the front.

She looked up, calculating me, "New comer?" Without waiting for an answer she pointed to the desk behind her, "you'll be sitting there. It's our only empty spot. Though I feel bad for you."

"Why?" How strangely peculiar this girl.

"You'll be sitting next to Edward Cullen, know him? He's not much of a partner for this class, let alone unsocial and aloof."

I grimaced, "yay…"

She laughed, "so you do know him!"

"I only know of him." I liked her, her personality was refreshing. Sarcastic and flippant; like me. She had layered hair she teased to fluff up; red in color, and shoulder-length. Many different necklaces hung from her neck, which brought attention to her tank-top with a bandaged heart design. She was wearing a skirt with hoes that reminded me of Beetleguise, a belt with card symbols, and knee-high boots. Her eyes were clear grey, and if I had to guess she was pretty tall. A tattoo of a faerie silhouette on a heart was on her upper left arm.

"That's all you need to know, and all you're gonna know. The man's not a talker."

"No dirty insight? Darn."

She smiled, "don't worry. I'll make this class tolerable for you."

"Thanks," I sat down behind her.

"So, new girl, gotta name? From hence did you come?"

"That was very bad Shakespeare talk. Camiryn Blaqk, I moved here from California. My grandparents live there."

"Where's your mom and dad?"

I gulped, "um, not around…anymore."

Shock filled her face, "oh! I'm sorry, me and my big mouth."

"No, it's ok."

"No it's not. I've only a mother, I know how it feels." I smiled, that made me feel a little better. "Hey, listen, if you haven't anything planned after school then we could hang out?"

"Um, I think I have work. I'll check, but I'd love to."

The bell rang and the students began to enter the classroom. The girl in front of me was joined by another girl. They turned to me. "Oh, yeah, I'm Lavender Snow and this here is Opal."

"Opal Lynn," she smiled. She was cute, in a old school kind of way. You know, the kind of girl guys thought were absolutely breathtaking in small towns. She was a little shorter than Lavender, with long brown hair that swept around her shoulders and green eyes. She was a little heavier than the average girl in this school, then again they were mostly anorexic or bulimic. But her curves complimented it; making it a full figure.

"Camiryn Blaqk," I said just as my table was accompanied. I knew who it was before I looked over. He was mid-sitting down and putting his books on the table, when his eyes flashed to mine. His expression was of curiosity and frustration, as if he expected looking at me answered questions he wanted answered. I turned away from him.

In fact, I reversed my attention from him the entire class, that is, until the pressure returned. I glanced sideways at him. His eyes were trained on me, glaring from the corner of his eyes. A binder snapped shut beside me and jerked my attention to it, but when I looked at Edward again he changed. His posture was frozen, like he was fighting to keep still, his eyes were still glaring, but they had an edge of astonishment and incomprehension, and downright anger. I made a face at him and turned away. His problem if he wanted to act weirdly.  
The bell shrilled and Edward stood stiffly (holy humongous tall people!), and practically bolted to the door as fast as a fluid, graceful walk would allow. Okay, maybe I exaggerated how tall he was, but compared to me, tall isn't a hard thing to be. I stared after him. Wow, was it something I did? Nobody wanted to get away from me that quickly before.

"Geez, Kitten, what'd you do? Stab him with a pencil?" Lavender asked, I was guessing her nickname for me was a sign I was already her good friend.

"I almost wish I had." Then I wouldn't be bothered by the fact I did nothing to him while he was acting pretty rudely.

I returned to the office, giving the lady the signed slip.

"How did your first day go?" the receptionist asked.

I shrugged, "as well as can be expected." I smiled and walked out. Since classes were still in session I was the first to leave. I sat in my Mustang awhile, enjoying that it was mine and I actually had something to drive. My options weren't tied down because I had to wait for someone else to drive me. (Coughcough Grandparents coughcough)

After smoothing my hands along the wheel, I turned the key in the ignition letting her roar to life. Riding in a car never felt so good before. I pulled out of the school parking lot and drove to Meridiath's shop.

School wasn't quite out yet, so the shop was pretty empty, according to Meridiath. Apparently, her shop was a frequent place the high school and college kids came to.

Her shop wasn't small, but neither was it big. From the entrance there were bathrooms off to the left right before the counter Meridiath stood behind, behind her were coffee machines that were lined up. Everything a store would need to make one for a customer. Dispensers, things holding lids and straws, and even flavor shots. In front of the counter in the middle of the front of the room was the display shelf thing loaded with herbs and teas and the like. To the right were tables with two chairs each, and in the back of the store were even more tables with two chairs lining the left wall and couches lining the right. In the middle of the back of the room were tables accompanied by four chairs. It looked like the Villa Idaho Falls' downtown had.

"Oh, good, you're here. And before everyone starts to arrive," she stepped from behind the counter, "maybe I can brief you on what to do before then."

The explanation was short and she finished just before the students started to arrive. And I'm not even joking, every kind of person you could possibly meet entered the door. No wonder this place could afford free wireless internet; this place was busy. It was a popular spot to hang out when no one wanted to go to the big city.

"And this is where she runs off to instead of having a fourth hour," Lavender said.  
I looked up from the cappuccino I was currently making. Opal and Lavender were walking up to the counter behind the lady covered in animal by-products make-up and fake jewelry. I handed the lady her drink and change and turned to my classmates. I didn't know if I made it to the friend's list yet.

"Can I get you guys anything?"

But before they could answer in walked the Cullens. The four of them meandered through the store, but I could tell they knew exactly what they were going for. Meridiath had said they came in almost daily for certain herbs and the October girl usually ordered a coffee with lots of cream. Though I didn't set out to make it, just in case she didn't order one today. But she walked up behind Lavender and Opal and waited, patiently. Lavender quickly ordered a regular coffee with extra sugar and cream and pulled Opal to the side. October filled the empty space before the counter.

"Hi," she greeted.

"The usual?"

She looked slightly surprised, but smiled and nodded, "yes, please."

I turned and began making one coffee with extra sugar and cream.

"You're new, right?"

I resisted the urge to jump; I didn't think she'd make small talk. Least of all with me. "Uh, yes, I am."

"I'm October Hunt."

"Camiryn. Blaqk."

"Black? Any relation to the family at La Push?"

"La what?" I turned to give Lavender her order, "no, I doubt it. My last name is B-L-A-Q-K. I don't think they spell their name like that." I took the money from Lavender and gave her her change. Then I set out to make October's order.

She smiled, "no, they don't. But I like the way your family spells it."

"Thanks," I turned with her coffee and set it on the counter.

She handed over cash and I returned with her change. She smiled and left to link her arm with the beastly guy's.

"You don't shy away from anything do you?" Lavender spoke.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Opal would've started stuttering," Lavender laughed as Opal half-heartedly smacked her arm. "Talking to the pale faces is a sort of taboo."

"Sort of?" I quirked an eyebrow.

"Nobody does it, therefore anybody who tries is stupid and is usually outcast-ed."

"Hm, well that's nothing new to me." I cleaned the countertop and shut the money drawer, then I leaned on the counter on my elbows. "I'm an outcast no matter where I go, so…"

"Well, join the club," Lavender smiled.

"Yup, we have t-shirts," Opal said.

I smiled, maybe I was on the friend list already.

Meridiath emerged from the office in the back. She was behind on the 'paperwork' part of working here, and so my help in the store was a big relief for her. I was putting away the cups and lids under the sink when Meridiath hoisted herself onto the counter to sit.

"So, how'd you're first day go?"

"Smoothly," I grabbed the straws, "met some friends."

"Yeah, who?"

"Opal and Lavender. And Raven," I put the straws and napkins in the cupboard and started wiping down the countertops, "and others."

"Well, good," she smiled. "Have you…" she hoped off the back counter to walk to the front counter, "have you met the Cullens?"

"Not formally, 'cept for October. But I've heard stories," I put the rag in the sink, "none of them very interesting."

"Hm…" she dropped the subject, "do you have plans with your new friends?"  
I felt bad, but suddenly I felt suspicious about her mentioning of the Cullens. "Yeah, they're taking me shopping this weekend. By the way, why do you close so early?"

"I didn't think six 'o'clock was early," she looked at me.

"For teens," I smiled, "it's always early."

She laughed, "yeah, that's true. Go on, I'll do the rest."

I smiled, "thanks." I hurried out the door and into my car and to home.


End file.
